


What a Ride

by dbhprincess



Series: No Longer Alone [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27975948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbhprincess/pseuds/dbhprincess
Summary: In which Connor and Hank don’t want the day to end, and their mission begins.A HankCon AU inspired by the 2015 filmThe Martian. Takes place before the events ofNo Longer Alone.
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor
Series: No Longer Alone [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006686
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	What a Ride

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was first written as part of a [thread series](https://twitter.com/i/events/1294694026780631042) on Twitter.

“That was the worst experience of my life,” Connor grumbled as he bent to unlock his bike from the rack outside NASA’s mission training center. The crew had just spent three whole days locked together in the training MAV in a simulation of what to do if their ascent from Mars didn’t go as planned. The crew generally got along great, but three days cooped up in an area the size of an SUV with five other people was a tiring ordeal. Connor’s one consolation had been that his chair was next to Commander Anderson’s, and they’d spent much of their free time talking about anything and everything.

Commander Anderson, who had followed him out of the building, stopped beside his car and stood watching him fumble with the combination. “But what a ride, though,” he said, with what sounded suspiciously like a laugh in his voice.

Connor glanced up as he unwound the chain lock. The commander was grinning down at him, his blue eyes lit with unholy mirth. Alright then, two could play that game. He stood up and tucked the chain into his backpack. “Then again, spending three days locked in extremely close quarters with five other increasingly smelly people did have something going for it.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” the commander asked disbelievingly, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

Connor leaned forward and lowered his voice, as if sharing a great secret. “Three days of stimulating conversation with the second smartest man on the crew.”

Commander Anderson’s eyebrow shot up his forehead. “Second smartest, huh?”

Connor lifted one shoulder nonchalantly, fingering the strap slung over his shoulder. Grinning slyly, he said, “Well, you can’t be the leader in everything, you know.” The he grinned.

The commander barked a laugh. “No, I suppose not.” He chuckled a little to himself, shaking his head as if amazed at the audacity of his subordinate. “Glad I could make your worst experience a little less unbearable.”

Connor’s grin softened into a fond smile. “You did, Commander. Truly.”

The commander just blinked at him, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, in that case, you wanna do it again sometime?”

Connor laughed, exhaustion and frayed nerves momentarily forgotten in the simple joy of joking around with his commander. “If you were there with me, I just might. But I wouldn’t want you to get sick of me before we’ve even begun the mission.”

Commander Anderson answered with a warm smile and creases at the corners of his eyes. “That’s not likely to happen, Connor.”

They stood quietly together for a minute longer, reluctant to part, smiling into each other’s faces as the evening light around them set with the sun. Everyone else had already left, desperate for solitude. They had the weekend off, and were expected to use it to recover their sanity, alone. Connor wasn’t ready to leave just yet, but it was growing cold, and he couldn’t hide a shiver.

“You gonna be okay getting home?” Commander Anderson asked, scrutinizing his light-weight jacket.

Connor shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. The longing to ask for a ride crawled up through his chest and into his throat, but he choked it down. He hadn’t taken the commander up on his polite offer after that first day; he’d wanted to establish a professional boundary with his superior that he wouldn’t be tempted to cross. But Connor was tempted, nonetheless.

“I’ll be fine, Commander,” he said. “It’s only a fifteen-minute trip.”

Commander Anderson frowned. “I don’t like it. Here,” he said as he shrugged out of his jacket, “take this, at least.”

“Oh no, I’ll be fine, really,” Connor protested, but the commander wasn’t satisfied until Connor took the jacket and wrapped himself in it. It was leather, and much too large, and wonderfully warm. And it smelled…really good.

“Just bring it back on Monday,” Commander Anderson said after an amused perusal of Connor’s engulfed form. “And make sure you rest, but also get outside for a while. Maybe take a long walk or two. Next time I see you, I want you rested and recuperated.”

“Roger, Commander” Connor replied, with a mock salute.

Finally spurring himself to action, he swung his leg over his bike and rode off with mutual smiles and waves. As he turned out of the parking lot, he looked over his shoulder and saw the commander standing by his car, still watching him and still smiling. Connor wished he had asked for a ride.

\-----

Four weeks later, the crew was back in their chairs, waiting for the launch countdown to reach zero. Connor was nearly vibrating in his chair from the heady mix of excitement and terror and the overabundance of adrenaline surging through his veins. Beside him, Commander Anderson was steady as a rock, communicating with NASA in a calm, measured voice as they ran through their systems checklist.

Connor took a deep breath and held it. Closing his eyes, he focused on the commander’s voice, because it was comforting to listen to his competence, and soothing to hear its rumble. He quietly wished he could reach across the small divide between their chairs and take his hand.

The journey ahead of them was long and fraught with danger and exhilaration and tedium in equal measures. But the crew was ready to face it all, and if they worked together, what a ride it would be.


End file.
